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Captive Spawn of the Madagascar Clownfish, A. latifasciatus

By
Ross DeAngelis
Posted
Jun 09, 2014 09:00 AM

The Madagascar Clownfish is one of the rarest Amphiprion spp. both in captivity and in the wild, so it is with great excitement we document what may be the first captive spawning event of A.latifasciatus.

The Madagascar Anemonefish/Clownfish (Amphiprion latifasciatus) is rarely seen in the aquarium trade. These fish are limited to specific regions in the Western Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar, and have one of the smallest distributions of all anemonefish. Along with other difficult to obtain anemonefish species, such as: Amphiprion omanesis, A. chrysogaster, A. chagonesis, A. fuscocaudatus and A. mccullochi, their small home range and collection restrictions make them scarce in the aquarium trade.

In 2009 the first pairs collected for the hobby were sent to Japan. Since 2010 at least three pairs (if not more) have been collected and distributed in the USA. This unique fish is often mistaken with Amphiprion allardi (in part due to a similar distribution), but A. latifasciatus has a forked yellow tail and much wider middle bar.

Captive Breeding

So far, no captive bred specimens have been available. However, there is a concerted effort among breeders and collectors to change that.

This pair was collected in late 2013 / early 2014 off the North Coast of Madagascar. They spawned on May 31, 2014 and is perhaps the first to spawn in the United States. Sadly, the male ate their first batch within a few days. This is a common behavior among new anemonefish parents. Hopefully egg survival will increase in subsequent spawns.